AUDITION: OF MICE AND MEN

CHARACTERS: All roles are open

George Milton – A small, quick-witted man who is Lennie’s de facto guardian, traveling companion, fellow ranch hand, and best friend. Although he frequently complains about his caretaking responsibilities, he is obviously devoted to and protective of Lennie. This friendship is what helps sustain George’s dreams of a better future – a fantasy of a little piece of farmland to call their own. George has a tendency to posture around others. He and Lennie are perennially out of work and down on their luck, but they take on these trials together.
Lennie Small – A physically imposing, lumbering, and occasionally clumsy childlike man, also a migrant worker along with his friend and companion George. His mental disability means that he is almost entirely reliant upon George for guidance and protection, however Lennie looks up to his pal with a combination of awe, respect, and love. The two men share a vision of a farm they will own together, a vision that Lennie believes to the bottom of his heart. He is gentle and kind, but he has no conception of his own strength, which gets him into trouble.
Candy – An aging ranch handyman, Candy lost his hand in an accident some time ago. He worries about his future on the ranch and fears the arrival of the day when his age will make him useless to others. When he hears of George’s description of their dream farm, he offers a considerable amount of money to join their venture, if only they would include him in the plans. Candy has an ancient dog he loves dearly
The Boss – The Boss is a stocky and well-dressed man in charge of the ranch George and Lennie land at. He is also Curley’s father. He is stern but fair-minded employer – an anecdote from Candy says the Boss gifted a gallon of whiskey to the ranch hands one Christmas. He makes only one appearance on stage.
Curley – The Boss’ son: a young, impetuous, and combative character. Curley indicates he “has done quite a bit in the ring” at one time, but now is just “a little guy, alla time pickin’ scraps with big guys.” He obviously has several chips on his shoulder, many of them regarding his newly acquired wife of two weeks and the way the other ranch hands look at her. His jealousy and frequent losses of temper serve to accentuate his essential pettiness – and his inadequacies.
Curley’s Wife – Only known throughout the whole play by her relationship to her new husband Curley and a string of unpleasant epithets from the ranch hands, she is a victim of time and place. Young, pretty, and isolated as the only woman in the play, she is, like many of the ranch hands, desperately lonely and has broken dreams of a different life. She is a victim in many ways, and her preoccupation with her looks gets her – and Lennie – into trouble.
Slim – The consummate ranch hand and the main driver of the mule team, Slim is called the “prince of the ranch.” And for good reason – he is tall, good looking, strong, and greatly respected by the other characters for his physical abilities around the ranch as well as his treatment of the other workers. He keeps his mouth shut unless it is to speak for the weak. He is an insightful, kind, and a natural leader – and the only other character who seems to intuit the nature of the bond between George and Lennie.
Carlson – Another one of the ranch hands, he is a thick-bodied man who constantly complains about the smell of Curley’s old dog. Carlson is a simple man who enjoy simple pleasures, but he has little sympathy for Curley when convinces him to let him take the dog out back and shoot it.
Whit – Another one of the ranch hands, noted as a youngish laborer. He is amiable and goodnatured, but a bit of a pushover. He and Carlson are in company together for much of the play, though when it comes down to it he is the only one who takes Candy’s side over the killing of the dog – but only for a moment before resigning himself to the group’s will.
Crooks – The proud, bitter, and somewhat black cynical stable-hand, Crooks gets his name, it is indicated in the script, from his crooked back. He lives by himself and is largely shunned by the other ranch hands – and he actively shuns them back, regarding any offers of kindness with suspicion. This bitterness stems from a combination of loneliness and the extremely pervasive, casual prejudices held by the country at the time this story takes place.